Last Updated: May 18, 2023, 19:08 IST
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge (center) with DK Shivakumar (left) and Siddaramaiah. (Image: Twitter/@kharge)
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who were in a tight race for the Karnataka CM post, would take oath along with other ministers on May 20 at 12:30 pm
As the days of suspense ended and Congress officially announced Siddaramaiah as the next Karnataka Chief Minister and DK Shivakumar as his Deputy, the state Congress is now prepping up to hold a grand swearing-in ceremony for which invitations have been sent to non-BJP Chief Ministers and other leaders from like-minded political parties from across the country.
The Karnataka Congress has extended invitations to party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Besides this, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik have also been invited.
Earlier in the day, the Congress announced Siddaramaiah as the next chief minister of Karnataka and state party president DK Shivakumar as his only deputy in the soon-to-formed cabinet.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who were in a tight race for the Karnataka CM post, would take oath along with other ministers on May 20 at 12:30 pm.
Announcing the decision taken by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal said all leaders, including the top leadership, worked very hard to make Karnataka victory a reality. “We have decided on Siddaramaiah as the chief minister of Karnataka. Shivakumar will be the only deputy chief minister,” he said, adding that Shivakumar will also continue as the party’s Karnataka state president till parliamentary elections are over.
At the same press conference, senior party leader and in-charge for Karnataka Randeep Surjewala said the Congress is committed to fulfil the five promises made during the elections and action would be taken on them in the first meeting of the cabinet.
As per news agency PTI sources, around 20 ministers will also be sworn in along with the chief minister and deputy chief minister, including some from the state legislative council.
Asked about the much-talked-about power-sharing formula between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, Venugopal said the only formula is to share the power with the people of Karnataka. “Ours is a democratic party, we believe in consensus and not in dictatorship,” he said on the hectic discussions held over the last few days.
(with inputs from PTI)
